'Hot Cars' act aims to protect kids by requiring back seat alert

A new bill in Congress is aiming to help protect kids from hot cars by requiring new technology.

Amanda Kesting, KUSA8:44 AM. PDT June 08, 2017

Police say the father of a 15-month-old Connecticut boy who died after being left in a car on a hot day was supposed to drop his son off at day care but went to work and left his son inside the parked vehicle.(Photo: AP Graphics/file)

KUSA - A new bill in Congress is aiming to help protect kids from hot cars by requiring new technology.

The "Hot Cars" act would require a new safety feature that would alert drivers if there's someone in the back seat once the car is turned off.

Since 1990 there have been more than 800 child-related hot car deaths.

The sponsors of this bill think adding the technology is an easy and obvious move.

"The many bells and whistles we have in cars, this one will save lives," said Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois).

"It's really not too much to ask to save the life of a child to add a little technology," added Janette Fennell, the president and founder of KidsandCars.org, a website dedicated to the safety of children around vehicles.

The bipartisan proposal would require both visual and audio alarms to check the back seat in any new cars.

This technology is already being used as an optional feature in some cars. For example, General Motors offers the "rear seat reminders" in several of its 2017 models.